Am I Being Overprotective Worrying About This?

Send him with a helmet and be done with it. They are probably not provided because generally kids don't move that well or all that fast on ride on toys and trikes. How did he fall backwards off of a trike? I'm not really understand that one, unless he wasn't riding it correctly, to begin with.

preschoolers and their bikes are low to the ground.. they do not fall far. preschoolers are not going that fast on their little bikes.. so they do not fall with a lot of force there are no cars that could hit them on their little bikes... no I would not worry about it at all.

We've had a rule since day one of bike/trike/scooter/roller blading--always wear a helmet. Just send one and stress that it not be shared with other kids (headlice).

I don't think you're being overprotective BUT it doesn't have to be true for every kid to be needed for yours.

My sons worn a helmet since he was a toddler... Because he's FAST. Totally coordinated, is the only kid left standing (whenever there's a massive spill/jumble/gravity storm), etc.

But while most kids might get a bump, he's fast enough that IF he does run head first into something (1:1000) he splits his head open to the bone & nicks the bone. (True story). Which would be IMPOSSIBLE for the 10 kids all playing with him, because they were so much slower. They spilled all the time, at low speed, and were fine.

He almost never falls, but when he falls, he falls hard. He gets a helmet.

Your son sounds like he falls a lot. He gets a helmet.

Both kids are outside the norm.

And that's okay.

Its okay for our kids to need something different, without the system needing to change. Don't feel like you need to take on the world every time you notice something is needed for your son :) Just do what's needed for your son.

(( Obviously, we're not talking issues of fainting horror... Like recess on the street, unattended powertool play, etc.. OMG dangers aren't included in "Huh. Kiddo. Its time to get you a helmet." Or "Huh. I think you need to eat right before class." Its easy to fall into "All kids must wear Helmets!" Or "There shall be an extra snack for all kids before recess." VERY easy. So relax :). Go with your gut. Your kid needs something. Do it.))

I'm actually surprised that they're not required to bring their own helmets if they have access to it.
The potential lawsuits that could come out of that are endless.

I'd bring in a helmet for your son's use only and ask that it be used every time he's placed on a trike. Because your son is having issues with gross motor skills it's important to make sure he's protected while having the time to explore and be a kid.

I was the first to come across and adult rider, not wearing a helmet. who crashed his bike at a very low speed. His jaw was out of alignment and he was screaming in pain. Thank God a dentist came to the scene and popped his jaw back. He had serious head lacerations. I had to call his wife to tell her what happened and have her go to the hospital.
If you had ever seen something like this you would not even hesitate to require your son to wear a helmet. My son is 10 and is the only one in his big group of friends that wears a helmet. His dad is a rider, who always wears a high quality helmet. Not wearing a helmet is an absolute risk or gamble. Are you willing to gamble with your son's life just so he will fit in? If so, I pray I'm not the one who has to call you.

Darling, if you want your son to wear a helmet (which is perfectly reasonable), send one to school with him and ask that he be required to wear it while riding a bicycle.

Cite this information: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/108/4/1030....

And: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00036941.htm

I'm not an overprotective mom at all. I let my kids climb and run and play as the please. But I would still want the school to have kids wear helmets while riding bikes.

Most bike and playground injuries that end up admitting a child to the hopsital are falls. And the majority of those are head injuries. Why? Because little kids; heads are HEAVY! So protect those noggins.

Best,
C.

Yikes, the kids should all be wearing helmets. It's a state law in NY for kids under 14 I believe. They should be taught from the beginning not to get on a bike without a helmet. My 3 year old falls all the time off those riding toys and sometimes hits his head, thankfully he wears a helmet...even in the cozy coupe because he likes to ride downhill.

The bike yard doesn't need a padded surface, that's ridiculous...the kids just need to wear helmets. Here's info on BIcycle Helmet Laws in each state.
http://www.helmets.org/mandator.htm

*Just wanted to add, It is a state law in NY and many other states that children under the age of 14 must wear a helmet by law or subject to a $50.00 fine!

Buy your son his own helmet. And, label it, and leave it at the school for HIM, to use.
Tell the school, AND put it in writing to the school, that you want him to wear it, when on the bike yard and on a "bike."

Sure, if the school approves, you can organize a Fundraiser to pad the bike yard. But you need their approval, first.

I have seen preschools with pavement bike yards. And some that are padded. Some are even just a grass covered area.
And there are no helmets.
It really varies.
And also, there is no State "law" in every State that says, kids need to wear helmets... on tricycles or ride-on-toys, or cozy coupes. Helmet laws per bikes, are usually per Bicycles.
Don't know if a Police Officer will ticket a non-helmet riding toddler on a Tricycle or cozy-coupe or ride-on-toys. For example.

Sounds like your son was not riding the trike correctly if he fell off the back. Seems to me he was standing on the back.

If you teach him to ride it correctly, he shouldn't fall backward off a trike or bike. So, I think the key is teaching him to ride it correctly and insisting that he do so.

My son went to two, different, excellent pre-schools. Both had ride ons exactly as you describe and neither used helmets, neither had soft surfaces. :)

I raised my eyebrows too, but as I thought about it (I'm pretty rational) the reason for helmets on low toys like that is to develop safe habits. None of the vehicles can get going fast enough for a serious crash, and there are no cars etc, on the play yard with them.

If they wear helmets on those trikes, they should probably also wear them when running, or jumping as well... the risk is essentially equal in terms of speed and potential distance to fall. A soft surface btw, would make a bump hurt less, but that isn't what a helmet is actually designed to do... helmets are for preventing skull and brain injuries, not scrapes and general owies.

HTH
T.

My sons' preschool has roughish looking pavement as well for the trikes and a specific path the kids can ride in. The trikes they have are also pretty beefy so it's hard to tip them, but I have seen kids sort of fall off. It does worry me some, but the parents (it's parent participation) are supposed to be out there making sure the kids aren't doing anything reckless (like crashing into each other). I know the kids have done stuff that warranted intervention in the past.

Outside of school, I make my kids wear a helmet when riding their trikes or scooters and also when ice skating. And sometimes, even when playing backyard patio hockey in their sneakers.

I think you should be able to provide a helmet for your son and request that he wear it when riding....especially if there may be gross motor skills that still need working on.

I wouldn't worry about it so much from a safety point now - but in the future - you want to develop good habits. our preschool did not have helmets but their tricycles had these huge trikes that practically couldn't be tipped.

we had the rule that if it had (has) wheels, there must be a helmet. did they need one at 2? No, they couldn't go fast enough, and in the "jeeps" (the 4wheeled things), it was totally superfluous to have a helmet.

but, at 9 and 11, they won't even consider something with wheels without putting a helmet on - I never have to say anything. so, the pain as a toddler on the helmets was well worth it.

so, I'd approach it from the standpoint of developing good habits and ask that each kid bring their own if people are worried about the sharing thing. or everyone just has to wear a beanie under a shared helmet.

I would just send a helmet in with my child for his use and not worry about it.

I don't think trikes and other small ride ons are tall enough, nor do the kids ride fast enough, to warrant the use of helmets.
He probably runs faster than he rides a trike, right? I don't think you'd only let him run with a helmet on a padded surface, would you? That just seems like overkill to me.

Yes, I think it's a good idea to wear a helmet and that you should send one to school with him. I think it's important to start good safety habits as soon as possible and if he learns to wear a helmet now he won't fight you on it later when it is more of a safety concern. Maybe he can help you pick one out with a fun theme or design on it that appeals to him.

My rule is to start as you mean to go. If you intend for your child to wear helmets on a bike, you start them wearing them now. I'm shocked the school doesn't require it. Irresponsible.

I agree with the response given by Birdsfreakmeout. I wouldn't care what the other parents are doing. Bring a helmet to that school and write something up where they can sign that says he will wear his helmet when he is riding his bike. Especially because you as his mother knows how klutzy he can be at times. When youre not there, you want to know that you're kid is taken care of and taken care of properly even though you can't know that 100%. If you tell them now they can't say they were never aware of your concerns if anything should happen.

i agree with everyone to J. send a helmet if it worries you BUT kids can run faster and fall harder then falling off a trike which is lower to the ground then when running. If it was a huge smoothe runway where they could gain speed i'd think diferent but the rough small pathway they have isnt enough to gain enough speed to get hurt anymore then running and tripping.

my daughter got a concussion at 2 years old from pushing a big plasitic airplane swing back and it crashed into her head at a party (the first itmne my mom took her anywhere without M.). it was one instant in a party of nurses and it still happened. at times i am paranoid and wish i could put ahelmet on her 24/7 but then i realize bumps and bruises happen. luckily kids are so low to the ground most falls arent a reason for concern

At two don't really think he needs a helmet. When they become wild man on two wheelers it is a good idea. He will fall, get bruised and hopefully without. Ugh fanfare, just pick himself up. Little ones get booboisie. It is a fact of life. A padded bike yard, I think not. If kids rode on that, they would be in for a big surprise on real pavement. Talk about the shock when they fell on the pavement instead of padding.

They can't do a padded surface, the kids are too little to peddle on that type surface. I suggest that you buy a bike helmet for your son and keep it in his cubby or classroom somewhere. They don't want a lawsuit for a preventable injury. Just tell them that you want him to have it on whenever he is on a bike.

Bring a helmet to your child's preschool and tell them that he is only to be riding the bike with his helmet on. Heck, I would even bring a contract that say, "Timmy will ONLY ride his bike with a helmet." and make them sign it. God forbid something should happen to your son's brain.
I say this as a mother who had a child suffer from sever brain injury caused by a car accident.
I can't believe the preschool doesn't make the children wear helmets! That's beyond me. It's quite stupid of them really.
L.

I don't think that you are being over-protective. I do think that you should have taken your initial concern a step further and bought a helmet for him, to be used EVERY SINGLE TIME he is playing on the pavement. (I wouldn't even want my 2yo sharing helmets.) No matter how "very excellent" the school is, they are likely not giving your son the one-on-one attention that might keep him from falling over and bumping his head. That's not necessarily a bad thing. You should not feel uncomfortable taking your child's safety into your own hands, especially when you see a particular need for it.

My kid's preschool also has trikes but no helmets. I let him ride the trikes but I always did worry about it. The reasons behind it are lice and the fact that the kids can't do it themselves so it requires a lot of hands on help from the teachers each time they want to take a helmet on or off. I get those reasons, but kind of wish they didn't have the bikes then. They don't take them out for the two year old class though, just the 3-4 year olds.

Anyway, I certainly think a fundraiser for padded surfaces is a great idea if you can make it happen. I'd suggest figuring out the cost of it first though and evaluating how much it would mean you'd need to raise. If parents are already tapped out from other annual fundraisers, they might not want to participate. It never hurts to look into it though and it could be a great thing.

As for your son specifically, I think you should have him wait before riding the bikes at school since you know that his gross motor skills may be a bit behind his peers. After his evaluation, if he's deemed to be on track, you can reconsider it again. Your priority needs to be on keeping him safe.

I don't see a problem with cozy coupes and wouldn't expect anyone to wear a helmet in those, so maybe limit him to driving those for awhile and tell him he can ride the trikes when he's older.

Just bring his helmet each day. My daughter's preschool has a bike/trike area too and they have a huge pile of helmets. Each kid must put one on. It's a good habit to get into anyway...you should encourage the preschool to start acquiring helmets!

In general, my DD's school has the bikes indoors but when she was in daycare, they were out on the wood chips, too. The way I'd probably address this is that you are concerned because your son has hit his head and would they put a helmet on him if you provided one?